Yes: I took a lot of heat online last month after the British prog-rock innovators played the Orpheum, for daring to say they sound completely intact – and maybe even a little better off these days – given the powerful younger pipes of replacement vocalist Jon Davison. Chiefly shocking among alleged slanders was my assertion that original sky-high singer Jon Anderson, who has been on his own since 2004, has suffered “unavoidable deterioration” with age.

I stand by that claim, and back it up with in-the-flesh and online assessments these outraged readers assumed I didn’t have. All the same, I’d amend my comment now, if only to point out that stating the obvious – singers who sound as strong in their mid-60s as they did 40 years earlier are almost nonexistent – doesn’t mean Anderson can’t sing at all. But that’s exactly how scores of fans took it.

There’s something else I’d note: Enjoyable though he remains, Anderson live either performs solo or with strings – and he doesn’t have founding bassist extraordinaire Chris Squire or still-agile guitar master Steve Howe. Further bolstered by expertly nuanced keys work from Geoff Downes and solid drumming from Alan White, the group is currently touring a show that their former frontman can’t possibly stage: robust readings of three classic albums in a single night.

They return in summer to do it three more times relatively nearby, including July 10 at City National Grove of Anaheim, $57.50-$67.50, on sale Friday at noon. Also on their schedule: July 12 at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas ($39-$89, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.) and Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay in San Diego ($60, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.).

At each stop, the band will tackle The Yes Album (1971), Close to the Edge (1972) and Going for the One (1977) in their entirety. Then they encore with “Roundabout.” Not to be missed by prog aficionados.

Paul McCartney: The Beatle isn’t coming anywhere near here yet. But the fact that he’s visiting Fenway Park on July 9, the second time he’s played the stadium on his ongoing Out There Tour, is heartening that perhaps more West Coast appearances will happen this year.

Depeche Mode: As previously reported, dates to see the electro-rock pioneers on their outing behind feel-shifting 13th album Delta Machine go on sale Saturday, including stops at Staples Center on Sept. 28-29 ($49.50-$129.50, at 10 a.m.) and Santa Barbara Bowl on Sept. 24 ($54-$120, on sale at 11 a.m.). Crystal Castles opens.

Björk: Late last week the Icelandic sprite tweeted that she will play here for the first time in six years. Now we know when these overdue performances supporting her 2011 disc Biophilia will take place: June 2 and 5 at the Hollywood Palladium, $77.50 for general admission, $137.50 for reserved table seating; followed by June 11 at the Hollywood Bowl, $35-$137.50. Tickets are on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. Also see her across three nights in San Francisco at Craneway Pavilion on May 22, 25 and 28.

Keith Urban: Here’s your reminder that tickets to see the American Idol judge on his Light the Fuse Tour, with Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Catch that lineup Sept. 27 at the Hollywood Bowl and Sept. 28, $27.50-$129.50, at Sleep Train (formerly Cricket Wireless) Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, $29-$59.

Jonas Brothers: The trio has been busy working on its fifth album and will hit the road this summer for a tour that ends Aug. 16 at Gibson Amphitheatre. Also see them Aug. 10 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and Aug. 14 at Viejas Arena in San Diego. Fan club pre-sales begin April 9, with one for Citi card-holders launching the next day. Expect a general on-sale April 13.

Mötley Crüe: L.A.’s aging bad boys are staging another Sin City residency with an all-new show at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas. A dozen dates in all: Sept. 18, 20-22, 25 and 27-29, and then Oct. 2 and 4-6. Tickets, most of which are in the $45-$225 range, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Limp Bizkit: Wasn’t it just a couple years ago that they were headlining Epicenter at Verizon? As they prepare to release seventh album Stampede of the Disco Elephants – produced by the guy who helmed their first, Ross Robinson – Fred Durst & Co. are scaling down to club level with an Observatory show on May 25, $30, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also new at the Santa Ana spot and on sale at that time: Flobots, May 20, $18. And in the venue’s smaller Constellation Room: acclaimed singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata, June 23, $15; Rebel Revive, April 12, $8; Spirit Family Reunion, May 1, $10; Detroit Cobras, May 26, $15; and the Front Bottoms, June 15, $10.

Jon Davison of Yes performs in March at the Orpheum Theatre. KELLY A. SWIFT, FOR THE REGISTER
Kelly Clarkson performs onstage at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. GETTY IMAGES

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